Safe Again
by ScreamBecauseNoOneIsListening
Summary: The story of Alice Gray and how she grows up in a life surronded by super heroes. She may have been broken and scared before but now she was protected by the people who cared and loved her the most. She was finally safe again. Rated T for swearing and violence. Rating may change
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: NEW STORY! I'm excited don't judge… So this is going to be about 8 months after Dick Grayson becomes Batman's partner. So he's about 8 turning 9. By the way, the oc character is 8 but extremely smart for her age… This is the cause for some of her vocabulary. **

**Warnings- Cursing and violence.**

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I let out a shriek of terror as another bullet whizzed by my head, "COME BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BITCH!" The man yelled from behind me.

I skidded around the corner of the alley and kept on running into the narrow path of darkness. I looked around frantically for a fire escape or somewhere to hide when I ran to a dead end (cheesy? Yes, yes it is). I grinned in relief when I a saw the bottom of a ladder leading to a fire escape. I turned and looked at the opposing wall, backing up a bit I ran at it and jumped. Pushing my foot off the wall, I propelled myself towards the ladder. I grabbed the bottom step and was pulling myself up when I felt a violent jerk at my foot.

I looked down panicked and cursed openly when I saw the three men below me, "Gotcha you little thief." They all smirked cruelly.

I kicked my foot out and hit him in the face; he let me go with a grunt of pain. I tried to scramble up the ladder but they got ahold of both of my legs and pulled. As I fell towards the concrete, my head hit the bottom the ladder with a sickening '_crack_'. I let out a cry of pain when I hit the ground, holding my head in my hands and curled into the fetal position. A heard one of the men let out a deep laugh, "Nowhere to run or hide now brat." He taunted me.

I whimpered in pain when a hard kick was delivered to my back. And another kick and they just kept going… They were taking turns, kicking me in various places and then they picked me up from the ground. I tried to wiggle out of the steel grip on my arms but it was no use. I was fading in and out, my body was aching all over, I was bleeding out, and worst of all I was terrified. I was terrified because I was certain I was going to die tonight.

An agonized scream tore from my throat when I felt an especially hard blow to my ribs and heard the bones snap. I screamed again when I felt something sharp puncture my skin and drag upwards… But then the pain of the object was gone and so where the men holding my arms. I dropped towards the earth but a pair of strong arms caught me and held me close.

I started to struggle weakly but a soft and comforting voice rang out, "Shhh. It's okay now. Shh you're safe. You're safe." My struggles stopped as the voice lulled me into a sense of security.

Too weak to struggle or fight, I let the person cradle me to their chest and I turned my head towards them. Then I started to fade. My vision was becoming blurrier and my eye lids were heavy. The person noticed this and whispered softly, "Don't fall asleep. Not yet…Stay away..." but I had already submitted to darkness.

* * *

I groaned as I heard hushed voices speak around me and tried to burry myself into the softness I laid upon. _Soft? Wait, that means… Oh god please don't let me be in a hospital. Please, please, please... _I opened my eyes wearily and took in my surroundings. _Okay defiantly not a hospital... _I thought to myself as I took in the cave like walls, the giant monitors, and the occasional bat.

I was following the black creature with my eyes when someone beside me cleared their throat. I jumped and let out a startled squeak, forgetting I wasn't the only one in the cave. I turned my head to the side to look at the perpetrator... Only to let out another high pitched squeak. There standing next to me was a tall man cladded head to toe in black with bat cowl covering most of his face and a cape flowing out behind him. Next to him was a boy who looked to be about my age, maybe a bit older, with a mop of black hair, wearing a domino mask, green tights, a red tunic, and a black cape with the inside lined with yellow. Then lastly there was an elderly looking man with grey and thinning hair dressed in a black and white suit.

After staring at the three men I finally got the courage to speak, "Who... Who are you?" my voice, despite me trying to be brave, trembled when I asked the question.

The elderly gentlemen smiled softly at me as the tall man with the bat on his chest stepped forward slightly to answer, "I'm Batman," he started softly and gestured to himself, "This is Robin," pointing to the boy who waved shyly, "And this is Alfred." He finished and Alfred stepped forward,

"It's very nice to meet you Miss?" He left the question hang in the air.

"My name's Alice Gray." I replied shyly.

He smiled kindly, "That's a lovely name Miss Alice." He told me.

I blushed and looked down, "Thank you." I told him bashfully.

Alfred nodded and stepped back when Batman came closer to me. Still a bit intimidated by the man, I shrunk away slightly. He noticed this and frowned, "I'm- We are not going to hurt you Alice. We only want to help." He spoke gently.

I nodded and raised my head up a little bit. Batman took this as encouragement and started to ask questions, "How old are you?"

"I'm eight years old." I told him, a bit proud of the fact.

The corner of his lips tugged down slightly at the fact, "Why were those men hurting you?"

I winced at the memory and answered, "I had… Had stolen some money from his pocket." My head lowered some from the shame that filled me.

His eyebrows furrowed, well at least it looked like they had (I couldn't exactly tell from behind his cowl), "Why would you do that?" There was no anger, just curiosity.

"I was hungry because I haven't eaten for a while." A replied, my head lowering further.

"Your parents?" He sounded strained, like he didn't want to hear the answer.

"They died… A man had broken into our... our house," my eyes started to water, "He had tied us all up in the living room and... and he hit my mom and my dad..." I took a deep breath and Batman started to talk, "Alice, you don't have to tell..." I cut him off, "No, I have to tell someone." I told him looking up at him with my large grey eyes.

He sighed but nodded his head anyway, "He just kept hitting them, not even sparring a glance at me. He would punch, kick, and slap them. Over, over, and over. And then," I let out a shuddering breath, "He brought out a _gun_," Alfred and Batman tensed even more at the mention of the revolting object, "That's when he turned towards me. He just smiled... _He smiled _and then began to talk. Saying _how he'd heard a lot about me_ and _how much better off I would be without my parents_. I didn't even register what he was saying because I was so scared about how close he and the gun were and the fact that my parents were on the verge of passing out from the amount of hits they took and all the blood they lost." Tears were flowing nonstop down my face know and Batman had his arms wrapped around me.

I tried to shake the images that were burned into my mind but they just kept replaying themselves, "Then I heard a loud bang and screams. I remember my dad going still and then another bang and my mom doing the same thing. I tried to tell myself they were sleeping and the man had just knocked them out, but there was just so much _blood,_" the word came out in a whisper, "That's when I realized the screams were mine, my mommy and daddy were dead, and the man who had murdered them was gone. I don't know how long I sat tied in that chair screaming and crying before the cops came. They came in and saw my parents and me. They got me out of there and cleaned, kept reassuring me everything was going to be okay but _nothing was okay," _another sob tore from my throat, "Since I had no other family they put me in an orphanage. Everyone was so nice; they smiled and reassured that I was going to be safe with them. But it was all an act for the cops who dropped me off. A day after I was there I had accidently bumped into the head lady, that's when the beatings started. They'd hit me for no reason or if I did something wrong on accident. They told me that I deserved it. That I was reason my parents were dead. If I would have been stronger they told me they would still be here. That no one would want a kid who had let their own mommy and daddy died." I paused and looked up at them, they all looked absolutely furious and disgusted, and I flinched at the expressions. But Batman just hugged me tighter while Robin and Alfred gave me small smiles.

I smiled weakly back at them and continued, "But it only got worse," I sniffled slightly, "The older boys there started to _touch_ me but that's when I snapped. The first time the oldest did it I kicked him and ran out the doors of the orphanage. I ran and ran. I ran until my legs burned and my sides ached. They didn't bother looking for me and I was glad. I didn't want to go back there. I don't ever want to go back there, that's why I live on the streets. I didn't want to go back," I looked up at Batman with tears and fear clouding my eyes, "You won't make go back, right?" I asked, my voice was small and timid.

"No. I won't _ever_ send you back there. Never." He told me, looking down at me with a stern yet soft stare.

I had to make sure, "Promise?" my lip trembled.

"Promise." He told me firmly.

I jumped out of his hug only to throw my arms around his neck and hug him tightly, "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." I kept muttering this into the crook of his neck as tears of joy escaped my eyes.

Batman put his arms around me and hugged me tighter like he was saying _you're welcome._ I don't know how long he held me as I kept thanked him but we were interrupted by someone clearing their throat. We looked over to who had done it, Robin, and he raised his eyebrow, "So what do we do now?" He asked looking at Batman.

I looked up at Batman wondering the same thing.

**Sorry to do a cliffy but I couldn't resist! Haha, anyways what do you think? Batman went to Daddy-Bats** **on her but come it's a crying and beat up 8 year old girl. Plus he has this instinctive feeling of protectiveness over her. So if the characters a little oc I'm sorry, but I hope you liked this chapter. I can't wait to see if some are liking the story as much as me so far.**

**Until next time!**

**-Cheers**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So I was really surprised at the feedback I got on this story and I wanted to say thank you to my two reviewers (storygirl99210 and SparrowSky1), the person who favorite this, the people who followed, and to all the readers! Thank you all so much! I really appreciate it!**

**Anyways, now I just wanted to say some things about Alice. Like I said before she is extremely intelligent, she picks up things almost immediately and is an observer. I changed what she could do because I thought of somthing I like better, elemental/emviromental powers. But she doesn't know she has them...yet. Anyways, onwards with the story! Oh one last thing, she didn't recognize Batman or Robin when she first saw them because she was out of it and scared… Now onwards!**

**Alice Pov**

I stared at Batman as he thought about Robin's question. I was started to worry when he just stood there for what seemed like forever. I started to doubt his promise, '_What if he can't do anything and they take me back?', 'What if he's thinking he made a mistake about saving me and what's to send me back?', 'What if…' _My thoughts were caught off when someone called my name. I snapped my head to look at Batman, only to see he had pulled his cowl down to reveal his face. I was shocked to say at least when I saw Bruce Wayne, play-boy millionaire. My mind's wheels started to turn, _'Which means Richard Grayson is Robin..' _ I turned my head to look at Robin and sure enough there stood Richard Grayson. I shook my head, _'Well you learn something new every day.'_ I thought, still reeling from the fact that they had shown me their secret identities.

I don't know how long I sat there thinking but Bat-Bruce broke the silence, "Alice? Say something? What's going on in your head?" He said with... Worry?

I looked at them and smiled slightly, their postures relaxed some. "Honestly? I'm just surprised that you showed your secret identities. And the fact that playboy millionaire Bruce Wayne is the Dark Knight." I told them, smiling wider when I saw Alfred smirk slightly at my last sentence.

Bruce and Richard chuckled and Bruce spoke again, "Well now that you know, you _can't_ tell _anyone._" He stressed the last part, "Understand." He said sternly, looking me straight in the eye.

I nodded, "Yes sir, I won't tell a soul." I promised.

He nodded, "Well since you know and I won't send you back to the orphanage," I stiffened at the mention of that horrible place, "and I certainly won't putting you back on the street. How would you feel about staying with us?" He asked me.

I was shocked again, I know he said he wasn't going to send me back but I certainly didn't expect this, "I…I would.." I stopped for a second to process it all, "I would LOVE TO!" I yelled excitedly and jumped at Bruce.

He caught me and hugged me while chuckling, "Lovely. But be careful; don't want you to put too much stress on your ribs." He said and I winced when the forgotten pain came back full force.

Bruce put me down and I clutched my ribs, "Ouch." I whined slightly.

They looked worried for a second but Richard stepped forward anyways, "Hi," he waved slightly, "I'm Richard but called me Dick." He finished.

I cocked my head slightly but smiled, "Hi Dick." I hugged him.

He stiffened slightly but relaxed and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. I stepped out of the out of the embrace and yawned quite loudly. I blushed and covered my mouth with my hand. They laughed and I blushed forward, "You must be awfully tired, Mistress Alice. Considering what has all happened tonight. Come along and I shall take you to your room." He said, walking towards me and put a hand on my shoulder.

I walked forward but stopped for a second and turned back towards Bruce. I suddenly ran towards Bruce and hugged him, "Alice?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice.

I looked up at him, "Thank you for everything." I told him, stepping back.

He smiled down at me and ruffled my hair, "No problem Alice."

I smiled at him and then ran back over to Alfred who was at the stairs, "Goodnight Bruce and Dick." I yelled over my shoulder.

"Night Alice." Bruce replied

"G'night Ali!" Dick yelled back.

I smiled at the nickname and followed Alfred the rest of the way up the stairs. He pushed on the door and we walked out of a grandfather clock, into a large room, down a hall, up another flight of stairs, and down a hallway with many doors. Alfred stopped at the third one on the right and pushed it open. Stepping in, I saw a queen sized bed with a white comforter, sheets, and lace edge pillows. There was a window with black, lace curtains on the far wall, a white dresser in the back right corner, and a vanity besides it. The floor was wooden and the room was simple but I loved it. Alfred handed me some clothes and I took them gratefully, glad that I didn't have to wear my dirty ones. He must have let while I was admiring the room, "These are some of Master Richard's clothes. I apologize if they are too big, but we do not have many female guest your age and these are the smallest we have." He told me with a small smile.

I shook my head, "No, no Alfred. These will do perfectly, I'm just glad that I won't have to wear these." I said, pinching my shirt.

"I'd never make you wear those things to sleep in, Mistress Alice. Actually, when you are done could you give them to me so I could wash them? You'll need something to wear for shopping tomorrow." He told me.

I looked at him, "That... That...Thank you Alfred. I really appreciate this." I told him.

He smiled wider and patted my head, "You're welcome, Mistress Alice. Now get change and I'll wait outside until you are finished." He said and walked outside, closing the door to give me privacy.

I stripped of my old clothes and put on my new ones quickly. I opened the door and Alfred was waiting there and I gave them to him. He took them and said, "You should sleep now, Mistress Alice." He told me.

"Goodnight Alfred." I said to him.

"Goodnight, Mistress Alice." He replied, "Oh and just so you should know, Master Bruce's room is three doors down to the right, Master Richard's is two over to the left, and mine is four down to the right across the hall."

"Thank you Alfred." I said.

He nodded, turned, and walked back down the hall and stairs. I turned around and closed the door, walking over to the bed. I climbed into it and snuggled under the covers. As soon as my head hit the pillows I was out.

_I opened my eyes and looked around; I was in my old house, in my old bed to be exact. I sat up and got of the bed. I walked out of the purple room and down the squeaky stairs, "Mom? Dad?" I called out._

_I heard a laugh, a dark and crazed laugh come from the living room. Walking into the room I gasped at the horrific sight. My parents were tied up and beat bloody. There standing in front of them was the man who murdered them a year ago, holding a gun covered in their blood and hitting my father in the face over and over. "STOP IT!" I screamed but he ignored me and kept hitting him._

_I tried to move, but it's like I was bolted in place. I couldn't move so I couldn't save my parents. He then flipped the gun and pointed the barrel at my dad's head, "NO!" I screamed as he socked the gun, "NO! DON'T! NO!" I kept screaming at him but he pulled the trigger anyways._

_I let out a sob and screamed as he aimed the gun at my mom, "NO! NO! DON'T SHOOT! NO!" but again he ignored me and pulled the trigger._

_I screamed and cried harder, "NO! MOMMY! DADDY!" I yelled._

_Suddenly the man turned towards me and started to walk over to me. My legs were finally unfrozen and I backed up into the wall behind me. I cried as he stopped in front of me and crouched down to my level. He looked at me with his dark and crazed brown eyes and pushed his dark brown hair out of his eyes. He continued to watch me as sobbed and cried. He smiled suddenly, "Alice." He said and raised his gun, "Alice. Alice. Wake up." He cocked the gun, "Alice, wake up. ALICE!" he pulled the trigger._

My eyes shot open and I saw Bruce looking at me with worry on his face. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him. He picked me up and I buried my head in his neck and cried. Bruce rubbed my back and cooed soothingly. I cried until my tears ran dry and I only sniffled. Bruce pulled me back and sat on the edge of the bed. Sitting me in his lap with his arms still around me comfortingly, he looked down at me with worry still in his eyes. "Alice, are you alright?" I shook my head no, "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked me.

I rested my head on his chest, "I dreamt about the man murdering my parents and then he shot me." I told him vaguely, my voice trembling.

His arms tightened around me and I felt another pair of arms around me. Looking behind me, I saw Dick hugging me from behind me. Then there was a hand on my shoulder, looking up I saw Alfred give me a comforting smile. I smiled weakly, "Alice," I looked back at Bruce, "You're safe now and we are here for you. If you need _anything_ you can come to us. Understand?" He said softly looking down at me.

I nodded and I hugged him again. He squeezed me slightly and let go, I turned as Dick let go and hugged him. He squeezed me back and let go as I hopped out of Bruce's lap. I walked over to Alfred and hugged him also. He patted my head and I let go. I looked up at him and he held a mixture of surprise and a bit of happiness. I gave him a small smile and then back to Bruce. He lifted me up and put me on the bed. I laid my head on the pillows, suddenly sleepy again and started to drift. When I closed my eyes, I felt Bruce drop a kiss on my head and heard him walk to my door along with Alfred and Dick.

The other two left and Bruce was just leaving my room and closing the door when I called out to him, "Bwuce?" my voice was soft and slurred.

"Yes Alice?" he said.

"Thank you." I told him.

"You're welcome." He said and closed the door.

I fell asleep as soon as I heard the click and dreamt of a life with Bruce, Dick, and Alfred. For the first time in a while, I was happy.

**So, good? Bad? Please review and tell me. I would really appreciate it! And sorry for the delay. I'm sorry if this chapter is crappy also. So until next time.**

**-Cheers**


	3. Chapter 3

**It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry for how long it took me to upload this! Again I wanna thank the person who reviewed my last chapter, .Night and MinjiMZnc, to all the people who followed, and to the people read it! Thank you! **

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**3****rd**** person pov**

The next day after Alice had woke up, got dressed in her now clean clothes, and ate breakfast Alfred had taken her shopping, Bruce had to go to work and Dick had school, so it was just the two of them. During shopping Alfred learned that even though the girl was only eight, she was _very _picky about her clothes. She hated anything frilly Alfred had suggested and instead got many pairs of blue jeans and shorts. She hated the pink and flowery shirts also so she got plain t shirts that were only one or two colored, flannels, and insisted on getting a Batman shirt, saying she's always liked Batman. She tried to stay away from anything too girly but Alfred had her get some dresses and fancy shoes for the events Bruce went to and held. She grumbled about it but secretly liked some of the dresses; her favorite was the long, dark green dress with a ribbon that tied around the waist.

After a couple hours of shopping, Alice now had a fully stocked wardrobe. The girl was delighted at the fact and thanked Alfred many times for taking her; the elderly butler would just pat her head and welcome her supporting a smile the whole time. After a little while Alice had become bored; Alfred was cooking in the kitchen, Bruce was still at work, and Dick wouldn't be home for about another hour or so. So Alice took it upon herself to look around the place and get acquainted with her new home. Home; she smiled sadly at the word. She still misses her old home along with her mom and dad, but she was happy here. Even if she had only had only been there for barely a day; she just _knew_ that she would have a good life here with Alfred, Dick, and Bruce.

The small, black haired child snapped out of her thoughts when she opened two very large doors that lead to her paradise; _a library._ Her face lit up like a kid's on Christmas morning and ran over to the shelves. Her eyes scanned over the titles and stopped when she found one that was familiar; _Tales of Sherlock Holmes._ She remembered her mommy was going to give it to her to read on their next trip to the library… The girl shook the depressing thoughts from her head and grabbed the book; hoping Bruce or Alfred wouldn't mind.

She held slightly heavy book to her chest and walked over to a worn, leather chair. Setting the book on the chair, she grabbed the armrests and pulled herself up. The chair was quite big and she was a small child, so she had a little difficulty getting on it. When she finally got up, she reached for the book and snuggled into one of the corners of the comfy chair. She sat the mystery book on her lap and opened it up; flipping the pages until she got to the first page. "_In the year 1878,"_ she read and started to get lost in the book.

* * *

It had been a long day for Bruce and he felt more tired than usual. Maybe it was because Vickie Vale wouldn't stop trying to interview him even though he had told her politely to leave him the hell alone after the first five times. Or maybe it was because he couldn't stop thinking about Alice; the small girl he had saved from a couple of sick men the last night. Alice; there was something about her, something that made Bruce just want to _protect her_. Make sure that nobody would hurt her ever again; though he knew that was almost impossible. But he still felt very strongly about this girl; almost as strongly as he felt about Dick. Dick; he seemed to care for the girl as if she was his little sister. He was about as frantic as Bruce last night when he had heard her screaming bloody murder. He seemed to care for her; it seemed that this girl had smitten all of them, Alfred included.

Bruce sighed as he walked through the door, though it wasn't one of weariness or unhappiness. It was filled with contentment; the girl might have not been here long but she had already somehow wiggled her way into the Dark Knight's heart. Bruce walked by the kitchen and greeted Alfred, "Hello Alfred."

Said man turned around with a cup of tea and had Bruce sit at the table, "Hello Master Bruce." He sat the tea in front of him, "How was your day?" he questioned him, now standing on the other side of the table.

"It was fine." Was his short answer, "How was shopping?" he asked him, taking a sip of the warm tea.

Alfred cracked a small smile, "Miss Alice seems to have taken a disliking to frills and fluff," Bruce hid his smile behind the cup of tea as he took another drink, "She was more taken with jeans, t shirts, and if I remember correctly she even picked out a Batman one as well." Alfred smirked at Bruce's shocked expression.

Bruce regained his composure after a couple seconds, "Did she now?" he mused and looked around the kitchen, "Where is Alice anyways?" he asked Alfred who had turned to clean the tea cup he had just finished drinking from.

The older man stopped what he was doing and looked around, "I am not quite sure sir, but the last time I saw her she was walking towards the library." He told Bruce and turned around to finish what he was doing.

Bruce thanked him and got up, pushing in his chair as he walked away from the table. He walked out of the kitchen and turned right, walking down the long hallway until he stood in front of two large and engraved doors of the library. He twisted open the handles and opened the door, walking inside the library his eyes swept over the old chairs and rows of books until a little head of black hair leaning from the side of a chair caught his eye. Walking over to the large leather chair he looked down and smiled at the sight; Alice was sitting there comfortably with a large, almost finished, book in her lap. She was staring down at the book, reading it, with her eyes wide with fascination and wonderment.

Bruce wasn't actually sure if she comprehended it but he didn't think she would be staring at it like that if she wasn't. He looked at her again and decided that she's probably been there for a while so he decided to interrupt, "Alice."

Her head snapped up and her eyes widen in surprise when she saw Bruce smiling down at her, "What are you doing?" he asked, his voice curious.

She smiled back at him, "Reading Tales of Sherlock Holmes." She replied happily, closing the book.

"Oh really?" Bruce raised an eyebrow at the happy girl.

She nodded her head enthusiastically, "Uh huh! And guess what?" she asked him excitedly.

"What?" he questioned her, smiled amusedly at the giddy girl.

"Sherlock Holmes is a detective, just like you!" she told him, bouncing up and down with her revelation.

"Really?" Bruce feigned surprised.

"Yeah!" Alice was really happy about this and Bruce smiled.

"Well I hope he's not better than me!" Bruce said playfully, picking her up into his arms.

She shook her head frantically, "Nope! You're.." she looked around as if to see if anyone was looking and then moved in closer to his ear and cupped her hand, "Batman." She whispered and pulled back, "No one is better than you!" she finished in her regular voice, smiling sweetly.

Bruce laughed, "Good to know." He smiled down at the girl, "So how was your day?" he asked, walking out of the library.

And the girl opened her mouth and told Bruce all about the shopping and clothes; how she confirmed that she hated anything too girly and preferred tings she could climb in. Bruce smiled and nodded his head as she told her about her day and then replied when she asked about his. She said she didn't like that Vickie woman, not only because she wouldn't leave Bruce alone and caused him stress... Okay that was the only reason but Bruce was stressed enough without having some persistent reporter on his case.

They had talked for a while; about their favorite things and dislikes, about anything they could think of. Soon Dick came home and Alice wanted to get to know the boy better so Bruce let her go and went to start work. The rest of the night went past uneventfully and when it was dark Bruce and Dick left as Batman and Robin.

* * *

The past couple weeks went by without a bump; Alice was doing great in her new home and well she now considered them family( she called Dick her brother the other day); she's almost call Bruce daddy a couple times but always stops herself because she was afraid of rejection. But no one really knew about this; well Alice thought no one did. Anyways, like I was saying, everything was going spectacular and Alice hasn't had any more nightmares since the first night. But like the saying goes; all good things must come to an end.

**Alice Pov**

_It was cold and raining when Alice opened her eyes. She was laying on something hard and head was pounding, she sat up holding her head. She looked around, she didn't recognize where she was at. It was a roof top of some building and it was very high up; considering she could see the tops of other buildings from her spot in the middle of the roof. And then she heard it; the dark and crazed laugh that haunted my dreams. I looked around the roof frantically, though it was hard to see because of the down pour. I heard it again and turned around slowly; only to have a strangled scream escape my throat. The monster had Bruce and Robin tied up, both bloody, bruised, and cut up. They were staring at me and robin screamed for me to help them but I couldn't move. He begged and pleaded with me while Batman just stared at me with empty eyes. I cried and struggled, but no matter how much I struggled I couldn't get to them. _

_That's when I saw the maniac, he appeared from the shadows and had a gun pointed at Bruce, "no!" I tried to scream but it only came out as a whisper. _

_He cocked the gun, "no! no! please no!" my voice was hoarse and quiet._

_And then he pulled the trigger and Bruce went limp, "Da- Batman." I whimpered, still trying to get to them._

_He cocked the gun and pointed it a screaming Robin, "No! Please no!' he didn't listen and Robin's lifeless eyes were staring at me, "Robin!" it was a strangled sob, my body was shaking and tears were streaming down my face._

_The monster walked over to me and pointed the gun down at me, "No one wants a girl who let her family die, Alice." He told me and pulled the trigger._

I shot up, gasping for breath and clutching the blankets in my hands. My body was drenched in sweat and tears were making it hard to see; but I knew for a fact no one had heard me. I wasn't screaming and I wasn't too loud. I wiped away some of the tears and climbed out my bed quietly, sniffling a little. I tip toed over to my door, opening it and peeking my head out to see if anyone was out there. After a minute I decided it was safe and walked down the hallway, checking in Da- Bruce's and Dick's rooms to see if they were there. They weren't and I started to worry. I ran silently down the dark hallway and down the stairs, to the room where the grandfather clock was. I sat down in front of it and waited for Batman and Robin to walk through.

The tears were still streaming down my face and I pulled my knees to my chest, burying my face into them, "Ms. Alice?" I heard Alfred exclaim and hurried footsteps.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Alfred crouched down next to me, looking down worriedly. "Miss Alice, are you okay?" he asked me, his eyes held concern.

"I had a nightmare." I whispered to him, a few tears escaping my eyes.

"Oh dear... Come on Miss..." "No!" I yelled a bit and Alfred looked surprised, "I mean... Can I stay here and wait for Bruce and Dick?" I asked, looking down now.

"Miss..." he trailed off when I looked back up at him with pleading eyes.

"Please Alfred?" I pleaded my eyes big and doe like.

He sighed, "Alright Miss," he complied, "but if you need anything I'll be in the kitchen, okay?" He told me and I nodded my head.

He got back up, "Alfred?" I asked when he turned to go into the kitchen.

He turned towards me, "Yes Miss Alice?"

"Thank you." I told him, he patted my head in welcome and walked to the kitchen.

I waited for hours (or what seemed like it) in front of the grandfather clock and Alfred checked on me every so often and kept telling him I would be okay when they walked through the door. I was now lying on my side, curled into a ball and with tear stains on my cheeks, blood shot eyes. That's when the door started to open and I jumped up; launching myself at the person and hugging them tightly. The body was small, but still bigger than me, so I assumed it was Dick, "You're okay." I whispered into his neck.

Dick snapped out of his shock and hugged me back softly, "Yeah I'm okay." He told me and I let go of him.

He gave me a worried smile and opened his mouth to speak but Bruce shot him a look, which confused me, and he went to the kitchen. I looked out Bruce, who was now looking at me worriedly, and jumped on him too; putting my little arms around his neck and burying my face into his chest. "You're okay." I said relief heavy in my tone.

"Alice? Are you okay?" he asked, his voice was dripping with worry.

I looked up at him, "I had a nightmare… I was on a rooftop and it was raining, I heard the man that k-killed my parents laugh. When I t-turned around to see where he was, y-you and D-dick were tied up, bloody, bruised, and cut. I tried to go over and help you, but I couldn't move." I let out a shaky breath and continued, "Dick was b-begging me to help you guys and you were just s-staring at me with e-empty eyes. Then he c-cocked his gun and pointed it at you, I b-begged and tried to s-scream, but I couldn't, for him to n-not do it b-but he p-pulled the t-trigger anyways, he k-killed y-you. Then he c-cocked it again and D-dick was screaming and I w-was p-pleading. I t-tried to move but i-it was l-like I was s-stuck to the s-spot. Then he s-shot D-dick and t-then he came over to m-me. He told m-me No one wants a g-girl who l-let her f-family d-die, Alice and then he p-pulled the t-trigger. That's when I w-woke up and c-came down here." tears were pouring down my face and I let out a sob, "I l-let y-you die a-and now y-you probably d-don't want m-me." I wailed and buried my face into his chest.

"Alice, look at me." He told me gently and I shook my head.

"Alice." His tone was demanding but still soft and he grabbed my chin gently.

I looked up with sad eyes and tears stains on my red cheeks, "It was a just a dream and I would _never_ not want you. I love you Alice Annette Gray-Wayne." His voice was only a whisper but it was filled with love.

"Really?" my eyes were glistening with unushered tears, "Do you mean it?" my voice was meek, filled with hope.

"I do." He stated, his face was lite up with a smile.

I put my arms around his neck again and hugged him, "I love you too, daddy." My voice was muffled because of the fact that my face was in the crook of his neck.

He pulled me back and looked at me with a look of confusion, "What did you say?" he asked.

I looked down, "I said I love you daddy," I peeked up to see his face was full of surprise and something else I didn't recognize, "I mean… You can have two daddies right? I mean you act like my first daddy and d-don't get me wrong, he will always be my daddy but I think of you as my dad too." I explained quickly and Bruce stayed quiet.

"I'm sorry." I whimpered softly, after the silence got too much.

Bruce's had snapped down to look down at me, "You don't need to apologize to me Alice…daughter." He told me.

I looked up at him with a look of surprise, "But you stayed silent and I thought you didn't want me to call you that." I told him quietly.

He shook his head, "Alice I would be honored to be your dad. I was just shocked when you called me daddy because I didn't expect you to call me it." He told me and held pulled me back to his chest, hugging me tightly.

I rested my head on his chest and yawned softly, my eyes fluttering shut. I listened to daddy's steady heartbeat and started to fade. I felt him start to walk and soon enough I was lulled asleep to the beat of Bruce's heart.

* * *

**So… Good? Bad? Horrible? I'm sorry I made a big time skip but it just felt right to do. Anyways, I hope I didn't make her call Bruce daddy but again, it seemed like the right thing to do. Like I said before, her parents died a year ago and she had no one for long and Bruce, Alfred, and Dick were the first family she's had since. It's just one of those instant connections you have with someone. Anyways, again thanks for who have reviewed, favorited, followed, and to all readers in general! Also she won't call Bruce daddy all the time, she alternates between Bruce and daddy, and Batman when necessary.**

**-Cheers**


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